MLB Player News

Rojas isn't in the Mariners' lineup Tuesday against the Angels.

The left-handed bat of Rojas will take a seat Tuesday as left-hander Patrick Sandoval takes the mound for Los Angeles. Jose Caballero will fill in at second base and bat ninth while Rojas is out.

Drury isn't in the Angels' lineup Tuesday against Seattle, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Drury will get a chance to regroup Tuesday after going just 2-for-21 with a homer and two RBI across his last five games. His absence will allow Eduardo Escobar to start at second base while batting fifth.

The Red Sox optioned Valdez to Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.

With Pablo Reyes (elbow) returning from the injured list Tuesday, Valdez will be pushed off the active roster and sent back to the minors. Valdez went 7-for-21 with a homer, four RBI and five runs scored since being recalled Sept. 1, and the Red Sox could still bring him back as a depth option before the end of the season.

Merrifield, who is out of Tuesday's lineup against the Rangers, is dealing with left groin tightness, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Per Davidi, Merrifield is likely available off the bench. He may not have started anyway against tough righty Max Scherzer, as Merrifield has seen his playing time slip against same-handed pitching.

Merrifield is not in Tuesday's lineup against the Rangers.

It seems that Merrifield has fallen into the short side of a platoon, as this will be Merrifield's third straight game sitting against a righty. He last started against a righty Sept. 8.

Westburg (undisclosed soreness) is starting at third base and hitting eighth Tuesday against the Cardinals.

He missed time after being removed from Saturday's game with an undisclosed injury. Westburg has hit safely in six of his last seven games and is hitting .409 with one home run and five doubles over that stretch.

Sosa is not in the lineup for the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader versus the Royals.

He's been seeing the bulk of the playing time at second base for the Pale Hose since being recalled last month, but he'll yield to Elvis Andrus for the afternoon game. Sosa will likely be back at the keystone for the second contest.

Massey is not in the lineup for the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the White Sox.

He'll likely be back out there for the second contest, but Massey will yield to Nick Loftin at second base for the afternoon tilt. Massey has just a .521 OPS over his last 14 games.

Gimenez went 2-for-5 with one RBI and a stolen base in Monday's 5-4 extra-inning loss to the Giants.

Gimenez has gone 10-for-24 (.417) with three steals across his last six games. The second baseman supplied a go-ahead RBI single in the 10th inning Monday, but the Giants answered with two runs in their half of the frame. Gimenez has had an uneven year at the plate, batting .242 with a .692 OPS, but his strong hitting in September is a good sign. He's added 12 home runs, 51 RBI, 64 runs scored, 27 steals, 25 doubles and four triples through 138 contests overall.

Drury went 1-for-6 with a two-run home run in Monday's 8-5 extra-innings win over the Mariners.

Drury put the Angels ahead 5-3 in the 10th inning, though Julio Rodriguez answered a half-inning later. It's been a spotty start to September for Drury, who has gone 8-for-45 (.178) over 11 contests this month, though six of those hits have gone for extra bases. The infielder is at a .259/.300/.480 slash line with 21 long balls, 69 RBI, 52 runs scored, 24 doubles and three triples over 109 games.